Arthur Mondella, the owner of the 67-year-old Dell's Maraschino Cherry factory in New York City, shot himself to death on Tuesday after environmental inspectors discovered that he had a thriving marijuana enterprise on the same premises.

Chicago Tribune reports that the inspectors discovered a fake wall that was another room full of cannabis, cash and expensive vehicles. The room had 80 to 90 pounds of marijuana and almost US$200,000 in cash kept in suitcases

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Their curiosity was piqued by the smell of weed, although the reason behind the inspection was that the facility alleged dumped cherry juice and other chemical liquid byproducts into the sewer.

While the inspection was ongoing, Mondella excused himself to go to the toilet near his office. When he was taking too long, the inspectors tried to get him to come out.

However, Mondella asked for his sister to whom he shouted to take care of his kids, reports the New York Daily News.

The newspaper's source said that Mondella had a licensed handgun that he kept strapped to his ankle.

After the inspectors opened the toilet, they brought Mondella to a local hospital, but he was declared dead.

Following the suicide, the business stopped operations the next day as investigators returned and were seen leaving with boxes of evidence. Also confiscated by authorities were a Porsche, Rolls-Royce and Harley Davidson.

The cherry business was established by Mondella's grandfather, Arthur Mondella Sr., in 1948. In 1983, Mondella took over from his father who was forced to retire early because of a triple bypass, and he grew the business which produced over a billion cherries and had yearly revenue of US$20 million.

Restaurants across the U.S. such as Olive Garden, Red Lobster, Buffalo Wild Wings Grill and Bar and TGI Fridays bought and served Maraschino's cherries on their menu.

There were no indications that it was a losing enterprise with the firm initiating a rebranding effort and buying new equipment to modernize production.

Friends of Mondella were shocked by the discovery but said everyone in the neighborhood liked him because he was a nice guy.

Tagscherry, marijuana